Help me Survive
by YOSI17
Summary: When it comes to surviving in the end of the world, Noah needs her best friend. Together they manage quite good out there, but Noah wonders if they are meant to die alone in this new world. When they meet up with the Atlanta group, things don't start up with the right foot. Will Noah's loud and bubbly personality clash with the group's redneck's tough and avoidant personality?
1. Chapter 1

The hot Georgia sun shone bright above us. It was around noon. My best friend and I walked through the forest, not really knowing where we were going. Atlanta was gone. It was full of those things; I called them zombies because that's the closest thing I could come up with. They were dead and ugly and ate people. I used to like zombie movies, even dressed up as one for Halloween. Now here I found myself visiting my best friend for the summer when the virus broke out; 3 months had gone by. I sighted as I stopped and plopped down on the ground.

"I'm tired," I told my best friend with puppy dog eyes begging to take a break.

Truth is we made the perfect pair for the zombie apocalypse. She was the ying to my yang as I liked to call it. I was smart and a good shot with anything but I hated running and tired easily. She had the fitness and the survival skills. We met each other in 3rd grade when I tripped on my untied shoelaces and she helped me get up.

She rolled her eyes at me and set her backpack down before she took a sit in a nearby log. My friend was the opposite of me when it came to looks. She was tall with really tanned skin and straight black hair, while I was short barely 5 feet with light skin and short brown curly hair that hid under a hat right now.

I saw her taking out a water bottle for her and tossed another one at me. "Drink it, Noah," she told me with a stern look. I gave her my silly smile "Yes ma'am. What would I do without you?"

She took a sip of her water then turned to look at me "let's see," pretending to be deep in thought she continued "you could have already died of dehydration, hide under your bed and die thinking that was a good idea, tripped and break your neck running away from those things, trust everyone you meet and wait for them to kill you, or you-".

"I get it, I get it," I cut her off and she laughed.

"But without you I wouldn't be able to kill those things and would die of boredom."

She was right I might not be fully cut out for this new world but at least I was useful at something. I had a gun with a couple of bullets left and I never missed plus a slingshot and a couple of marbles that were useful if I could get the zombies in the eye sockets. We both carried a knife in our waistbands well.

"Alexis, where exactly are we going? We are running out of food and the forest scares me at night."

"Don't be such a baby. We go high up in the mountains, get high ground, and then think of something there. Come on get your lazy butt up time to continue."

She pulled me up while I protested and whined. We kept walking. We had decided to hide our hair up in hats and wore baggy clothes to hide the fact we were women. I figured two women walking alone in the end of the world was a bad idea. I might be gullible but even I knew what happens to women who travel alone.

While we walked, I took down two squirrels with my slingshot and marbles. At least we would have something nice to eat tonight.

It was getting dark so we stopped in a clearing and set up our sleeping bags and Alexis made a fire so I could cook the squirrels.

I skinned and cleaned them as she looked at me with a disgusted look on her face. I didn't mind getting dirty but her on the other hand preferred to see the squirrel only after it was cooked. I had an idea.

I grabbed some guts and turned to look at her.

"Oh, no no no I know that look don't even think about it." I threw the guts at her as she squealed and tried to get it off her. I laughed hard I loved messing with her.

"This is gross. You and your childish pranks. I swear one of this days I will leave you here alone and you will have no one to mess with."

I stopped laughing. "No no please you know I hate to be alone don't leave me. I'm sorry I will try to not do it again!" I reached to hug her waist like if she could take off any minute.

"Eww get your stinky hands off me you smell like dead squirrel. Relax I was kidding. You really believe anything and everything you hear." She pushed me away and rolled her eyes.

"You are mean." She laughed.

That night we ate telling stories of back in the day when our biggest worry was if we would be allowed to have a sleepover.

We usually took turns keeping watch while one of us slept. She took the first watch and I laid down in my sleeping bag looking up at the stars wondering if we were going to die out here just the two of us trying to survive not really having any place to go. Alexis tossed my teddy bear at me.

"You know how embarrassing it is that you are 25 and need a teddy bear to sleep?" My simple teddy bear had been with me since I can remember. He had no name; never named him. I never liked to be alone so holding on to it made me felt less lonely at night. We all have our embarrassing traits, don't we?

"I can't help it. Besides I think the world is too fucked up already for anyone to care about a 25-year-old carrying a toy around."

"True. Well go to sleep because I'm waking your ass up in 3 hours and I don't want to wake you up with cold water again."

I drifted off to sleep. She woke me up soon later for my turn to take watch. It was an uneventful night. No creepy man eating corpses lurking around. The following morning, we packed up our stuff and continued walking to high ground.

 **Hello!**

 **Been reading a lot of Daryl/OC stories lately and I've had this idea in my head for a while. I'm studying Engineering so writing is not my strongest suit. I will try to not make this story a complete fail. I have a final tomorrow that I should be studying for but I could not get this off my head. I might write the next chapter this weekend depending on the response the story gets.**

 **I'm giving it a try so let's see how it goes.**


	2. Chapter 2

It was early morning as we kept walking through the thick Georgia woods. I was getting extremely bored. This whole wake up, walk for hours, take a break, keep walking, sleep, repeat the next day, was starting to irritate me. Seriously how can Alexis just do it without complaining? I loved complaining and whining, maybe it was because I get bored easily and that gives me something to do.

"Are we there yet?" I asked for the 10th time in the last hour.

"No stop asking!"

"Are we almost there?" I was getting whiny, I know, I know but she was used to it. She does say I raise her stress level on a regular basis.

"I do not know Noah!"

"But I am booored." I stressed out the o in bored to make my point.

She threw me a glare and I decided to drop it for a while. After a couple of seconds, I couldn't help it and I started humming to the Gummy Bear Song. I saw Alexis's clench her fists to her side as she tried to count to ten and calm down.

"Seriously Noah there is only so much patience I can have and you are reaching the breaking point. We have to be quiet and careful and you are humming to a children's song!"

I gave her my silly smile. "Sooooo… are we almost there?"

"If I say yes will you shut up?"

"May-"I couldn't finish my response because I had tripped with my own shoelaces and fallen. I could put my arms out before my face collided with the ground and turned to look at my untied shoe laces.

"Only you. You do realize if we were running away from zombies, they would be munching on you right now?" She bent down to tie the shoelaces of my worn out red converse. I turned the other way embarrassed at my myself. I know how to tie my shoes but every time I tie them, the little shits just come undone no matter what I do. It was like a curse that I carried with me since I could remember. We had meant to grab some appropriate boots and more gear but we had rushed out of the city as soon as we could.

Alexis and I were from California and she had moved to Atlanta last year to work as a social worker. I was just visiting for the summer. Our families were back in California but the last we heard, there was nothing to go back to. We didn't talk about it much we rather pray and hope that our families were safe somewhere or maybe it was better if they were already dead and didn't have to live in a place like that. None of us was close with our families, we both had bad issues with them for good reasons. I know I probably didn't cross my family's mind often but I didn't let it bother me anymore. I learned to forgive and forget in a way.

When my shoes were tied, she helped me back up and covered my mouth with her hand.

"Someone is coming," she whispered. I looked around and didn't see anyone. In the snap of a second an arrow was shot and hit a squirrel that was a couple of feet away from us.

"Run," Alexis silently mouthed. I wasn't thinking. I ran to grab the squirrel then ran after Alexis as fast as I could, avoiding branches and trees. Far behind I heard the southern accent of a man "Son of a bitch! That's ma fucken squirrel." He was running after us fast.

Alexis was up ahead climbing on top of a tree so I did the same. When we made eye contact, she held up her index finger to her lips meaning for me to be quiet. I gulped as I saw the man coming closer. He was a Redneck. Tall and built from what I could tell. His hair and face was covered in dirt and grime, it was hard to get a good look without moving. I held my breath and looked up to see Alexis do the same.

Eventually he went out of sight, still looking for the person that stole his squirrel. We didn't dare climb down until we were completely sure he was gone. It was probably a good hour until we slowly made our way down the tree. By this point my black t shirt was full of dirt and twigs. Looking down at myself, I tried dusting myself off. It was funny looking down at my chest and not seeing any boobs there. We had both wrapped bandages around our chest. It was not only safer but more convenient. They didn't get in the way.

"You. Stole. His. Food!? Are you crazy!?" I knew she wanted to scream at me but kept quiet obviously knowing he could be within hearing range. I held up the squirrel with one hand and tried to look innocent.

"I wasn't thinking I am sorry," I said trying to plead my case.

Alexis was deep in thought looking around. I put the squirrel, with the arrow still embedded in it, in my small tote bag. We traveled light just some two backpacks, 2 sleeping bags, and my tote bag. My gun was kept inside the tote bag and my slingshot was on my pants back pocket. The small bag filled with marbles rested in my left hip.

Suddenly she turned to me with a confident look on her face. "We are going to follow him, he must be part of a bigger group or have a camp set up nearby." Looking at her like she had grown another head, I responded "You are kidding, right?"

"No now that I think about it what you did was smart, look supplies here in the woods are close to none but there are other people out there with supplies we can use and you are small and sneaky and fast when you want to be. It can work. I know it can."

Well I am glad I did something useful but stealing from other people sounded mean. What if they needed it more than us?

As if reading my thoughts, she reassured me "It is not like we are going to steal everything, just whatever we need to keep surviving. You want to make it out here, you need to stop caring so much about other people. Right now, there is only me and you." I thought it over and nodded my head.

"All right, all right I will lead the way since I am the most awesomest tracker ever." At the sight of my silly grin and loud voice she shook her head and laughed.

I began following his tracks through the woods. This was fun and way better than following Alexis around all day. Tracking was like a game and games kept me entertained. We walked carefully trying not to make much noise in case he was nearby. I felt like a ninja on a very important mission. I liked making myself useful. It is true that I do not hide the fact of being a dependable person but I was good at some things and made sure to be the very best at the little I could do. I learned how to track at a law enforcement camp. They called it sine cutting but pretty much the same thing. It wasn't just about footprints but also any disturbances in nature like broken twigs, stepped-on leaves, dents in dry mud. It was a fun camp and I learned some useful things here and there but a law enforcement career wasn't for me. It was too serious and too many rules no place to be yourself. Instead I became a kindergarten teacher. I was to begin my first real job next fall but none of that now time to focus.

While following the redneck's tracks, we had hidden our hair in hats and rubbed dirt on our faces; didn't want to get caught looking like two young attractive women. Well one attractive woman and one scrawny looking girl because that is what people always took me for, and I came to not only accept it but embrace it. Not everyone is comfortable being themselves but I was. While Alexis had a good eye for what people used to call fashion, I enjoyed bright colors and could never color match my outfits. I was a walking rainbow as she used to say it. There was no room or place for bright colors now; with having to camouflage through the woods and stay protected and warm and on the low. I missed it. What I would give for being able to wear a bright yellow jacket around here.

However, look on the bright side, I don't have to show up early for work every day, and I get to spend the rest of my life with my best friend and bug her every day. I loved being optimistic and always looking at the positive side of things; it's never good to be sad or stressed about something when you can turn it into something happy.

I was brought down from my train of thought when we heard an alarm like a car alarm out in the distance, it was faint but here in the woods you could hear it. I ran towards it without thinking.

"Bitch wait up! Stop you don't know what that is!" Alexis called and ran after me. When she caught my arm, and stopped me from running closer to the sound she began to scold me.

"What the hell are you doing? Do you ever stop to think things thru? No, you just-. " I knew why she stopped talking. We both heard it. People.

Not just one or two but a whole group of people. We got closer and climbed a tree together to get a better look without getting caught.

These people looked excited and happy. People were hugging and laughing. I hadn't seen this much positivity in a group of people since the virus broke out. It was the type of happiness that was contagious. At any other time and under different circumstances I'm sure I would have walked right up and be happy with them.

However, the guy we were following was not here. Mr. Squirrel's tracks had gone deeper into the woods but when we heard the alarm and I took off running, we stopped following him. This was much more interesting and rewarding. It was hard to make out what they were talking about but sounded like a reunion of sorts. It must be nice having people out there expecting for your return or praying for your safety. I know I didn't have that. All I had was Alexis and well my unnamed bear if you wanted to count him as a companion. I couldn't help but wonder if the redneck, Mr. Squirrel, had made it back to his camp and if he had people waiting for him and welcoming him like these people welcomed each other. I longed to belong in a group like that.

"I know what you are thinking and no we cannot trust everyone we meet I already told you." I must have been looking at them admiringly because Alexis punched my shoulder and said loud enough for only me to hear.

I tried to hide my disappointment and looking at what looked to be a family of 3 hugging and crying with happiness, I just smiled. Maybe I couldn't have that but I'm glad they did. The little boy looked so happy and the man dressed as a sheriff could not stop hugging his wife. The others around them just looked, unable to intrude on such an intimate moment. But there was someone that caught my eye.

It was a guy mid 30s I suppose, shaggy black hair big ears and a nose that looked like it had been broken multiple times like the boxers I used to watch on TV. It was not his appearance what really caught my eye but the way he was standing and what he was holding. He had a big gun. Now I don't know much about guns I know my gun was little but it did the job, but that thing was scary and the way he was holding on to it told me he knew how to use it and would not think twice about it. I know I am not known for thinking things true but maybe we might want to reconsider this whole stealing from them idea. I didn't want to find myself on the shooting side of that gun.

 **Hello!**

 **Not sure anyone is reading this but either way i'm enjoying writing it. If anyone is reading this story let me know :) And if you are, well tell me if anything gets too repetitive because I think that is my biggest issue when writing, I use the same words and I don't even realize it so it would help out if any of you catch it from time to time so I can fix it. So next chapter there should be some interaction between the group and them and maybe some Daryl too. I will probably start writing it right away because I have many ideas but a review or two would be nice might even really motivate me to post it tomorrow or Sunday. My idea is to update this at least twice a week for now. For sure for sure you will never go a week without at least one new chapter I promise to make it like my little homework!**

 **Anyways hope I am not just writing this for myself!**


	3. Chapter 3

I remember Alexis had once told me long ago invading people's privacy was wrong because everyone needs a little mystery in their life. Everyone carried deep secrets within them and in most cases those mysteries and those secrets made them who they are. I know I have my secrets and Alexis had hers.

Over the years, I had taken a liking to observing people and figuring out what types of secrets they carried with them just based on observations. I became quite good at it. Just like any other game where you can piece together clues and match evidence with observations. It's funny how I can make a game out of the most serious circumstances sometimes. Everyone copes in different ways and for me making things fun was the way to go.

It was dark out already. We had been up in the tree for about 2 hours, I tried not to get restless but it was not exactly the most comfortable position.

From where I was on the tree I could make out 9 people sitting around a small fire. It was hard to make out the full conversation from here, but they all seemed to be intrigued by what the guy on the Sheriff uniform was telling them. He was sitting with his son and wife, or at least I assumed that's what they were by the way he held them close and looked at them. I had not heard anyone mentioned their names yet. Why would someone want to wear their Sheriff uniform now. Sure, it gave him a sense of authority but I don't think he went around giving infractions or arresting people lately.

Across from them sat the guy with the big gun. I think I had heard the Sheriff call him Shane. The looks he gave the little family, did not go unnoticed by me. It was hard to put a word to it but he looked kind of conflicted like he didn't know how to feel. My observation skills allowed me to notice the quick looks the Sherriff's wife and Shane exchanged. Guilt looks maybe? It was hard to look so it could have been something else.

There was also a young Asian guy sitting next to an African American guy and an old man. Hard to tell what type of people they were but to me they were all nice people. Then again Alexis says I trust too easily.

There was also two blonde young women huddled together near the fire. One of them looked to be around our age.

Other people gathered around their own little fires but it was too dark for me to see so I began to pay attention to the conversation these people were having to see if I found out anything useful.

"Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon?" The old man asked. "He won't be happy to hear his brother was left behind."

The African American guy said something about dropping a key and the Sherriff said something about cuffing him. The conversation was a little confusing. I don't know who Daryl Dixon is but I felt bad for him. He used to have someone waiting for him I supposed, and now he was going to come back to that person gone. What if that is all he had, like Alexis and me? A knot formed in my throat just at the thought of not having Alexis around anymore. I pushed it aside and continued listening

"We are going to have our hands full when he gets back from his hunt."

"I stopped long enough to chain that door," he continued talking but all I heard was "Dixon's alive and he is still up there handcuffed on that roof." This just kept getting increasingly confusing. So, did they leave the guy's brother handcuffed to a roof? Well that wasn't very nice. I did not know what to make out of this people anymore. Where they good or bad?

After everyone seemed to have gone off to sleep, Alexis and I made our way down from the trees as carefully and quietly as we possibly could. We walked a little deeper into the woods to avoid being heard.

Out of nowhere, thunder growled loud up in the sky. I squealed and ran hugging Alexis. A few seconds later, lightning lit up the woods and the sound of thunder filled my ears again. Me and thunder just no. I did not like the sound it made like explosions up in the sky and you never knew when the next one was coming. I have never liked it and always jumped every time I heard it.

"Get off, we need to get serious right now." She pushed me away and then rain started pouring down on us. The thunder and lightning continued to fill the sky. I tried to ignore it but I just wanted to cover my ears and go hide somewhere.

Alexis continued talking. We were both soaking wet by this time. "Let's take advantage of the rain, it would be harder to see us. The guy with the big gun is on watch right now close by the tents. If we are quiet, we can look around and take any supplies they might have left scattered around."

I simply nodded as more thunder rumbled and made up a plan in my head.

"Okay you take left I take right. We go around the camp not through the middle. If we see something useful we grab it and continue to circle the camp. You saw the RV?" she nodded. "We don't get near it. It's too close to the guy keeping watch."

With the rain still pouring down we started walking towards their camp. With the thunder and the rain, we didn't have to be so careful about being quiet. Looking around I could see some water bottles laying around, a couple of unopened cans of food. I slowly approached the cans, careful and keeping an eye out on Shane who looked lost in thought from here. Putting the cans on my tote bag I kept walking around the other tents.

When I took the next step, my foot came short by what I could tell was my untied shoe laces. Just like that I came down hard into the floor and couldn't help but grunt when I hit the floor. That was all it took for Shane to be alerted about someone sneaking around the camp.

"Who's there!?" He grabbed his big gun and made his way over to this side of camp. I tried standing up but with the rain, the mud had become a slippery trap and I came down on the mud again. When I looked up I was met with Shane pointing the pointy shooting side of his big gun on my face. I felt like I wanted to cry.

With all the commotion, others had woken up and I turned around to see a man dragging Alexis by the arm as she tried to break free of his grasp.

"I caught this bastard trying to rob us of our food!" This man was not with the group I had been observing earlier. A woman and a blonde little girl were behind him.

"Ye I caught one too," Shane said as he pushed his gun closer to me. "Who are ya?"

I turned my gaze to Alexis who slowly shook her head. She didn't want me to say anything. I was scared. The rain had stopped and by now everyone was awake and surrounding us. Looking at either me or Alexis. I saw the Sheriff and his family as well as the old man.

"What should we do with these sons of bitches, Rick?" He was asking the Sheriff.

Rick came forward "Who are you two? What are your names?" he asked in a less menacing tone than Shane had. I turned my gaze the other way refusing to answer.

"Ed bring him over here." Rick motioned for Ed to bring Alexis closer. He shoved Alexis to my side. I tried to get closer to her but was stopped.

"None of you move." Shane kept pointing the gun at me.

"Glenn bring some rope. We have to tie them." Rick said. The Asian boy ran, probably to find some rope.

Rick reached for my tote bag that was on the ground and looked inside. He reached in and took out my small gun. "What were you planning to do with this? Where you going to kill one of us if it came down to that?"

I wanted to speak up and say no a million times because I had never nor would ever kill a person. The gun was for the zombies. One look from Alexis told me to not say a word. They were mad at us, they were probably going to kill us. We were going to die alone with no one that cared about us. No family waiting for us. I held back a sob as lone tears made their way down my cheeks. I know Alexis would have face palmed herself if she could. I got emotional easily. She wasn't even scared at this moment.

"Hey pussy boy why ya crying?" Ed laughed at me.

Glenn got back with some ropes. Alexis was tied down first and I didn't have the guts to do anything. At this moment, I didn't feel an ounce of confidence left in me. She didn't make it easy for them, she trashed and tossed and try to throw some punches. Maybe I should do the same.

When Shane and Rick came over to tie me I was lucky and got in a good punch in Shane's face. That only earned me a mouthful of curse words followed by a kick to the stomach that knocked the air out of me. They finished tying me down. The force of the kick knocked the hat out of my head and my curls came down over my face. I tried grasping for air but it was hard.

"Noah!" Everyone turned to look at me and then Alexis, whose high pitch yelp of my name did not sound like it came from a boy's mouth.

"Shane that was uncalled for!" Rick took a closer look at my face and then walked over to Alexis and yanked the hat out of her head. Her black hair spilled down in wet waves. He took a closer look at her then at me again.

"You are girls." Shock was written over his face. I was sure shock was written all over their faces. It had become easier to breath so I looked up at Shane.

"How does it feel knowing a girl punched you in the face?" I mocked him.

"Bitch," he started walking towards me but Rick got in the way.

"Shane stop. She is messing with your head."

"Look the fact you are girls doesn't change the fact you were stealing from us. We can't just let this go."

"Stealing is such a bad word, more like borrowing." I had found my confidence again.

"You want to be a smartass?" Shane got closer and before Rick could stop him he slapped me hard on the face.

"Shane step back." Rick's voice was filled with authority.

I could taste the blood on my lip. I looked down, I had never been slapped or kicked like that before. It hurt but I pushed the thought to the back of my head.

"So, what's going to happen to us? Are you going to kill us?" Alexis spoke and looked up to meet Rick's eyes.

"It's late. We will figure this out tomorrow. Shane and I will keep watch on you till morning." He looked around to the spectators. "Everyone else go back to bed."

Rick and Shane moved us to the middle of the camp, Shane's grip on my arm was tighter than necessary. They sat us in the ground and took a seat couple of feet away from us. I didn't like Shane and that is rare because it's hard for me not to like people.

"Hey Shane, that nose of yours, you know you could get that fixed with some plastic surgery." I tried not to laugh at my own joke. Shane just stared me down like a predator, with a calm but murderous look on his eyes.

"Shut up Noah," Alexis muttered under her breath.

I yawned and shivered. We were still wet from the rain and the night was fresh. Our backpacks and my tote bag laid scattered away from us. Our knives had been taken away. As had been my slingshot. I was tired but I couldn't bring myself to sleep in the cold wet mud with Rick and Shane watching our every move. I started playing with the mud while Alexis stared off into space.

Morning came soon and the rest were waking up. Everyone was up and about. I couldn't help but smile. All these people had something going on for themselves here. It's been a while since I've seen these many people together. Disappoint filled my face when I realize I would never have that.

"So, Mr. Rick, What now?" I asked him.

He was about to answer when the screams of some children broke through the camp.

"Dad!"

"Mommy!"

Suddenly everyone was running to where the screams came from. Everyone except Shane who had spent all night giving me the death glare. I tried to look at what was going on but I couldn't see or hear. I hope everyone was all right.

After a while I could hear everyone coming back. I turned my neck to get a better look.

"Merle! Get yer ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel!" That voice sounded familiar. Before I could figure it out, I saw him. It was the redneck, Mr. Squirrel. He carried with him a bow and a bunch of squirrels tied together.

He took a close look at me. "You!" He stormed forward, "You son of a bitch, you are the one who stole my squirrel." He obviously had more with him so I don't get what the big deal was. These people didn't like to share.

Ooops.

"I still have it. You want it back? It's in that bag." I nodded my head to my tote bag and tried to give him a friendly smile. Didn't think getting on the bad side of more people was a good idea. Alexis just sat there. I wonder what she was thinking.

"What they doing there all tied up?" Daryl asked Shane.

"We caught them stealing from us last night."

"Stole from me too. Bitches deserve to be tied up."

I was about to protest but he ignored me.

"Where's Merle?"

Shane stood up from where he sat and walked over to Daryl.

"There was a problem in Atlanta."

"He dead?"

I looked closely at him. He was the Daryl they were talking about. It was hard to read him. Shouldn't the thought of his brother's death at least somewhat affect him? His careless movements told me otherwise.

"No, they left your brother handcuff to a roof." I told him. Everyone turned to look at me with open mouths. Had I said something wrong? It was the truth. I heard them talking about it last night. Even Alexis looked at me a little shocked. I think she wanted me to stop talking.

"It's on me." Rick step forward to talk with Mr. Squirrel. I mean Daryl.

"Who are you?"

"Rick Grimes. Your brother was a danger to us all."

"Let me process this. You people handcuffed my brother to a roof? And you left him there?" He paced around as he screamed at Rick. I stayed quiet not sure of what to say for the first time. All eyes were on him. He tried taking a swing at Rick but was shoved by Shane. I watched as he took out a knife but Shane soon had him in a choke hold.

"Let me go! Choke hold's illegal." He struggled to say.

"You can file a complaint," Shane said.

"Can I file a complaint about your excessive use of force last night as well?" I threw out there.

"Noah, stay out of it," Alexis told me loud enough for me to hear.

Daryl had calmed down by now and they tried to talk some sense into him and explained what happened. I hope he was okay. No one deserves to die like that.

Daryl wiped a tear quickly. So, he did care.

"Hey I hope your brother is okay." I said. I would have stood up and gave him a hug but I was still tied down. I didn't like to see people suffer so I felt back. Everyone gave me a weird look.

"I don't need yet pity." He didn't even look my way.

"Well I still hope he is okay. I can go help you look for him," I forgot about my feet being tied for a second and when I tried to stand up I fell down making a fool of myself. He ignored me and turned to look at Rick.

"Tell me where he is. I'll go get 'im."

"I'll show you, I'm going back with you." Rick told him and suddenly an idea popped in my brain.

"We can help you and in return you can let us go." Alexis looked up at me interested at my words.

"No way." Shane laughed at me "What good would you two be?"

"You need all the help you can get and I'm a good shot. We will get our own supplies from the city while we get your brother and once we get him, we will be on our way," I explained to Rick.

He nodded. "All right we leave in a few. Glenn, T-Dog you coming too. Gather what you need." He walked up to us and began to cut the ropes. I rubbed my wrists where the Rope had been tied too tight. Then he walked away to his family.

We picked up our bags with our stuff and I walked up to Daryl and tried handing him his squirrel with his arrow. I gave him a friendly smile but he just yanked the squirrel out my hand and walked away.

So, he was not a friendly person. Its fine I would keep trying. I could tell deep down he was a nice person. I think.


	4. Chapter 4

Noah and Alexis sat on the back of a truck sitting across from Daryl, while Glenn drove the truck to the city. Rick had given the girls their belongings back including their knives and Noah's gun. The ride was quiet until Daryl spoke to T-Dog.

"He'd better be okay." The look on his face full of threat.

"The geeks can't get at him." T-Dog insisted.

Noah looked up to Daryl with big brown eyes full of hope and told him "Everything will be okay. You see your brother will be there and everything will be fine." She offered him a warm smile but Daryl just looked away.

The truck stopped in a halt and everyone made their way out of the truck Noah being the very last. She took a good look at her surroundings but there wasn't much to see. She then realized there would be a lot of walking involved and pouted but followed the rest of the group into the city.

"Noah come on don't fall behind." Alexis motioned for Noah to hurry up.

Noah picked up the pace until she was walking side by side with Glenn.

"Hello my name in Noah." Her signature friendly smile adorning her face.

"I'm Glenn. You have a really cheery and positive attitude for someone living through the end of the world. I like you already."

"Sorry I can't help it." She giggled.

They had decided to go look for Merle first then the guns. To which Alexis questioned Rick.

"What guns?" She looked at him hard and serious?

"I was here before and I dropped a bag of guns in the city. It should still be there and you agreed to help us in return for your freedom."

She nodded and the group continued walking until they reached a building. Everyone proceeded cautiously inside but when Noah walked in and took a good look at all the things inside she could not keep her voice down.

"Alexis look at all these clothes and supplies we could use so much of these things!" A lonesome walker was heard making their way to the group snarling and gnawing at them. Daryl took it down in the split of a second with his crossbow.

"Ye really don't know how to keep yer mouth shut do ya girl?" He shook his head and kept walking while Noah looked down away from everyone's looks of disapproval towards her.

"I'm sorry." She said but not loud enough for anyone to hear. Alexis helped lead her towards the rest of the group. They made their way through a long flight of stairs that led to the roof. When they reached the top door, Noah felt herself praying the man's brother would be there. She would not wish anyone suffer through the loss of a loved one even if it was someone she barely knew.

Rick busted the door open with a set of big plyers and Daryl was the first one through the door looking for his brother.

"Merle, Merle!"

When they all walked through the door they saw it. Merle had sewed off his hand to escape. There was blood. Lots of it from the looks.

"No! No!." Daryl cried out in pain for the loss of his brother. No one dared approach him besides Noah whose empathy got the best of her and she herself had tears streaming down her eyes. She slowly reached out to put a hand on his back for reassurance.

"Hey it's okay he is alive. He is going to be fine." Her calm reassuring voice got through Daryl's tough exterior and this time he did not slap her hand away from him.

Hello Everyone sorry for the delay! No excuses Just wanted to write a quick chapter although short to let you know I'm still here. Let me know if you prefer short chapters every other day or 2 long ones a week?

Please please review even if it's just Hi or Hey I'm reading your story. It helps a lot especially when I need inspiration really if it's even one or two reviews per chapter it makes me write more.


	5. Chapter 5

**Alexis POV**

My best friend had always been the one to get attached too easily and not only that but she was always able to sympathize with other people's misfortunes better than anyone. Her emotions always seem to get the best of her. I remember her crying during one of those commercials where the dad gets her daughter a bicycle and says you cannot put a price on love. When I asked her why she was crying, she said that the dad had probably worked so hard to make his little girl happy. Yes, that was Noah full of emotions she could go from sad to happy in a matter of seconds.

Only I knew why she acted the way she did and as I saw her trying to console a man she did not know I was not shocked what so ever. However, Rick, Glenn and T-Dog could not hide the apparent disturbance in their faces. It didn't take a psychologist to figure out Daryl was not a people person and his brother was all he had.

My job was to keep her and I safe. Noah is too dependable in other people. She has always been and will always be. That is why I had to make sure these people got their guns without any major incidents and we got the hell away from them as fast as we could. I was not a fan of big groups unlike Noah.

We all watched as Daryl wrapped his brother's mutilated hand and put it away in Glen's bag. I couldn't help but make a disgusted face and why he needed to carry it around was beyond me. No one had said anything yet; it was an awkward moment.

"He must've used a tourniquet. Probably his belt. Be much more blood if he didn't." He said pointing to the saw he had used.

"Blood leads that way." Noah said and rushed to follow the trail without waiting or thinking like always. We followed her inside the building.

"Geez Noah wait up!" I called after her.

"Merle? You in here?" Daryl called out. I was praying if he was here, he was alive and not out to eat us.

"Merle!" Daryl kept calling out.

"We are not alone here, remember that." Rick told him.

"Screw that. He could be bleeding out."

We reached a room that appeared to have been a kitchen of sorts Noah was standing there looking at something.

"Your brother is a badass." She told a confused Daryl and pointed to a type of Bunsen burner that had been left on and a piece of metal with what appeared to be burned skin. Gross.

"He cauterized the stump." Rick said.

"I know isn't that such a brave thing to do." Noah was full of amusement because she knew that meant he was alive. Everyone else looked a little troubled at the image of said procedure.

"Told ya he's tough. No one can kill Merle but Merle." Daryl said.

"You see I told you he is fine." Noah told Daryl and he just nodded.

"He busted out of here." Daryl said walking towards the open window where Merle had obviously escaped.

"Your brother is awesome." Noah was obviously amazed at the man's skills and intrepidity.

"He's doing what he knows how to do. Surviving."

At that comment, Noah looked away and lost all sorts of amusement on her face. She knew she could never be anything like that. All that bravery needed to survive in this new world she didn't have it. That was okay because we would always be together and if she had me she would survive. She is my best friend and I had to make sure she knows that.

No one seemed to notice her apparent change of mood as everyone was arguing about the actions leading to this; Obviously, Daryl was not happy his brother was not found. I offered Noah a small smile to break her out of her trance and she smiled back. It was all she needed to forget about it. For Noah, a simple display of affection can go a long way.

Daryl and Rick where about to go at it but Noah intervened. She positioned herself in the middle and put her hands in their chests.

"Please this isn't helping anybody. We need to come up with a good plan. Fighting and arguing won't solve anything." Both Rick and Daryl looked down at her face full of worry. She had never enjoyed seeing arguments or fights it reminded her too much of her parents.

"We can help you look a few blocks around but you need to keep a level head." Rick told Daryl.

"I could do that." Daryl responded and I heard Noah let out a big sigh of relief and a big smile adorned her face.

"You see that was better." She told them but they just ignored her and it was decided that we would look for the guns first then Merle. Great this mission just kept prolonging itself.

After a while I found myself in another room with the group while we tried to make some sort of plan to retrieve the guns. Truth is this was more in Noah's area of expertise. To me it was all confusing with the whole makeshift diagram of the street and the position we were supposed to be at. I rather just wait until someone tells me what is my job and so I wasn't paying much attention to them. I could see Noah and Glenn where doing most of the planning taking measurements and switching up strategies.

It was decided Noah and Glenn would retrieve the guns while Daryl covered them. I was to go with Rick and take cover somewhere else in case things went bad.

"Noah be careful okay. Don't rush into anything." I told her and gave her one last hug before we all parted ways.

It was Rick, T-dog and I making our way through an alley when suddenly walkers, as this group called them, where coming both ways. I got my knife ready and so did Rick and T-Dog. I sunk my knife in one's skull and blood gushed out into my clothes. The stench was horrible. I almost gagged but I had to keep going.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see one was about to get Rick from the back and before I knew what I was doing I made my way there and ended up wrestling the thing. Both Rick and T-dog where occupied now so it was just me and the walker. It was strong I was using my left arm to keep it away while trying to use my knife with my right hand. Everything happened so fast.

It just takes a small bite.

I could stab the knife and kill it but not before it got me. I lifted my long sleeve and sure enough I could make out the teeth marks on my arm.

My heart sunk to the bottom of my stomach.

This was it, the end of the road for me.

However, I had one more thing to do before the infection took over so I shook the feeling off and made my way to Rick and T-dog.

"Back there. That walker. You saved my life. I owe you one." Rick looked me dead in the eye and thanked me for what I had done. I was about to respond but we heard something.

"Ayudame! Ayudame!" It was a guy crying out for help. Things with the other group must not be going as planned. Something was wrong and we were all on alert. We rushed to where the cries where coming from.

When we got there, I noticed a really aggravated Daryl trying to punch a young teenager, and the bag of guns.

"Where is Noah?!" I started freaking out. Something was wrong. She was nowhere in sight.

"They took Glenn and Noah. That little bastard and his little bastard homie friends!" All his anger was directed toward the boy. But all I could think of was Noah.

I made my way to the boy and punched him hard on the face as he tried to coward away.

"Where is she?!" I was about to punch him again but was held back by Rick.

"T-dog back to the lab." Rick instructed and I was pushed in that direction as well.

We were back where we had previously been. Rick and Daryl where trying to get information out of the boy. I could feel the fever beginning to take over my body and I still had something very important to do.

"Rick, you got a minute to talk please?" I asked Rick urgency evident in my eyes. He nodded and followed me to another room.

"What's the matter?" Hands on his hips he was full on authority mode.

"I have a favor to ask you. You said you owed me one so here it goes," I lifted my sleeve and showed him the bite as he backed up a bit. "Please when you get Noah back take her in with your group." Tears started to form at the corner of my eyes. I never cried but It just hit me I would never see my best friend again. I had to make sure she would be safe.

"She won't make it out there in her own. You have seen her. She depends too much on others. Please I beg you I'm all she's got left and an-," my voice broke and I met Rick's compassionate look.

"I will watch out for her. I promise you have my word." He put a hand on my shoulder and I knew he was telling the truth. Rick was a man of his word.

I rubbed away the tears and reached out for a piece of paper and something to write with that was laying around the room.

 _Hey Bitch,_

 _Sorry Noah looks like this is it for me. I know how I always tease you for being you but honestly, I would not trade you for anyone else. I'm going to miss everything about you. I don't say this a lot but you got something special. You will be okay so stop all that crying you look like a baby! Rick agreed to take you in his group so promise to listen to what they tell you. I trust them I guess you were right, they are good people. Take care okay? One of us must make it through to carry on our crazy adventures._

 _Love you Noah,_

 _Alexis your BFF_

I unclasped my necklace of a small blue butterfly and gave the letter and the necklace to Rick. He nodded and was about to make his way out of the room when I remembered I had something else.

"Wait Rick." I took out an old photograph from my bag and handed it to him. He took a good look at it and a small smile played in his lips. It was from a couple of years back, Noah had that happy toothy grin she was known for and I was rolling my eyes at her.

"She's a really happy girl ain't she?" He told me.

"She is but she's very special. She's had a tough experience as a kid. Being so happy, and well… childish is just her way of coping. Please take care of her." At this point tears where making their way down my face.

Rick walked out the door and I sat back and relaxed knowing Noah would be safe.

 **Hi**

 **A little gift for the previous long wait. I deserve some reviews now right? :)**

 **Sorry if there is any grammar errors I didn't double check.**

 **Let me know if you like it so far and if I should update soon!**


	6. Chapter 6

Noah POV

The plan was for Glenn and I to run for the bag of guns as fast as we could. The only thing we thought could go wrong were walkers closing our path and even then, we had other ways to run. We had never contemplated the idea of another group having their eyes on the guns as well. Hell, we didn't even think there would be any live people in the city anymore.

I immediately knew things had gone south when I heard the cries for help coming from the Mexican boy. I felt trapped and we had no time to think. Before I knew it, Glenn and I were being held by strong arms and being hauled away.

"Daryl! Daryl!" Glenn shouted. We were both struggling but it didn't work. We were both thrown in the back of an old car.

I was thrown in first and a big guy followed. Then went Glenn and a guy who had one of Daryl's arrows in his butt. I was trying so hard not to panic, to think straight but everything was wrong in this situation.

"That puto shot my ass!" I heard one say.

"Did you get the guns?" The guy driving asked.

"No, everything happened so quick man. They took Miguel ese."

I took a good look at all the guys in the car. They were all Mexican, it appeared.

"A donde nos llevan?"(Where are you taking us). All heads turned my way having finally realized they had 2 hostages in the car.

"You speak Spanish?" Glenn quietly asked me.

"Yes, I'm Mexican." I didn't turn to look at him, instead I locked eyes with one of the other guys demanding answers.

"Don't worry princesa, your friends will come looking for you two and we will get our guy back and the guns and you will be free to go. We are not the bad guys here you will see."

I relaxed a bit back into the seat and crossed my arms across my chest. No one said another word for the rest of the ride. When I felt the car stop, I looked out the window to see we were outside some kind of building.

The side of my door opened and I was pulled out of the car by my arm rather harshly. I noticed Glenn was also pulled out of the car.

"Hey ese treat the lady with more respect. These are our guests now. My name is Guillermo. I'll show you guys around come." The same guy who I had talked to in the car said. He motioned for us to follow him. Me and Glenn exchanged a look and decided follow him.

"Felipe go get that arrow taken care of will ya?" He told the other guy.

We walked inside the building and I could see a lot of guys working on some buses. This was a big group. When I looked closely and made eye contact with some of them, I didn't feel scared. They didn't give me a wrong vibe I didn't think they would hurt us. Then again Alexis said I lack common sense and would go off with the first person that offered me candy. I looked at Glenn and he gulped as he looked around. He looked a little scared.

We went inside another part of the building. This one cleaner and it almost looked like a clinic of sorts. At the end of the hallway there were old people sitting around a large common room. I looked at Guillermo a little confused. What was this place?

"It's a retirement home. We take care of those forgotten when shit went down. I told you we were the good guys. Now make yourself comfortable, I got other business to attend too." With that he left a confused Glenn and I standing there.

"Such a pretty little girl." I turned to look at a sweet old lady standing next to me. I gave her a tiny smile.

"Come, come I got something for you." She grabbed my hand and wanted me to follow her so I left Glenn there knowing he would be fine.

She led me to a small room with a bed, a drawer, and a small desk. She told me to sit down on the bed and then pulled out a little box from her drawer. She opened it and inside, it was filled with Mexican candy. I knew my excitement must have been visible in my expression because she put the box on my lap and said "Take them, you can have as many as you like whenever you like."

It was no surprise my eyes got watery. She reminded me of my own grandma back in Mexico.

"Thankyou." I told her as I wiped away the tears. I didn't want her to think I didn't like her gift because I did.

"What's wrong mijita?" She said as she sat down next to me and enveloped me in a big grandma hug.

"Nothing, you just remind me of my grandma back in Mexico, I hope she is all right." I smiled at her this time.

"Oh, mija don't worry us grandmas are stronger than you think." She winked at me and I laughed a little.

We sat there and ate candies for what felt like hours. I enjoyed this; it felt so normal, I almost forgot there was dead people roaming the streets outside. She had proceeded to give me a hat and a scarf she had knitted for her granddaughter; I put it inside my tote bag that I still had with me. She said I reminded her of her granddaughter as well.

We were in the middle of our conversation when I heard Rick's voice inside the building which meant Alexis was with them too because she would not let anyone come get me without her. I said my thanks to the lady and ran out the room following the voices.

"Alexis! Alexis! Look what I got, you are going to love this!" I was so excited to show her the candy. I was running with the box in my hands. I finally got to the room I had left Glenn in and saw everyone was hovering over a man that had trouble breathing. I saw Glenn, Rick, T-dog, Daryl. My eyes kept scanning the room looking for her until my eyes met Rick's.

I dropped my box of candy and when it hit the floor I felt all eyes on me. I could read it in his eyes; something had gone wrong and she was not here nor would she be outside. Suddenly my lungs could not get enough air and my face got hot. I forgot where I was and just sat back against the wall gasping for air.

"She's having a panic attack." All I could hear were words but I could not make out the meaning. I felt strong arms pull my back against a hard chest. The person holding me put one of his hands over my eyes and his other on my back while talking on my ear and reminding me where I was and that everything was fine. Who was this person? And how did he know what to do in case of a panic attack? Alexis always knew what to do but she wasn't here anymore.

"Keep an eye on her I need to go talk to Felipe." I heard Rick's voice.

The person who had helped me, realized I was better and took the hand away from my eyes. I suddenly saw I was sitting on someone's lap and I became filled with embarrassment. I crawled away from the person and finally looked up to see who it was.

It was none other than Daryl Dixon with no sign of emotion on his face. I was absolutely shocked to say the least.

"Why…How did you know how to?" I was stuttering over my own words.

"My mum thought me how." He picked himself up from the floor.

I just stayed there sitting against the wall as silent tears began to fall slowly at first, and then harder along with sobbing. I would never see her again. My friend who had seen me through the end of the world and who knew me better than anyone. I was alone in this world. I would miss her rolling her eyes at me and her diva attitude.

"Your shoes are untied." Glenn pointed at my shoes. I knew none of them knew what to say, but that made my crying louder. I tried to reach for my shoelaces with shaky hands. I kept trying to tie them but kept missing horribly when Daryl slapped my hands away and tied both in less than 30 seconds. I guess he had gotten tired of watching me try.

At that minute, Rick came back. He kneeled in front of me and placed a folded piece of paper along with an old picture and a necklace on my lap. "I'm sorry for your loss." He looked genuinely sorry.

"She asked me to bring you back with us. You will be fine, I promise." He patted my knee and stood back up. I nodded and tried to wipe away the tears and snot with my long sleeve. Once I could contain my crying to a minimum, I put on the small butterfly necklace around my neck and put the picture and note inside my bag. I don't think I could read the note right now.

"Come on we have to go." Rick told me.

I picked up the box of candy and stood up to follow the group out of the building. The whole walk to the van was silent. I kept to the back of the group lost in my thoughts and memories of my best friend.

"Where the hell's our van?" I heard Daryl say.

I broke out of my thoughts to realize we had come to a stop and the van was missing. They assumed Mele had taken it and would take his vengeance back to camp which raised some alertness in all of us. There were women and children there; we had to hurry back.

"Come on we got to run." Rick said and began picking up the pace. I was trying my hardest to keep up. I didn't want to slow them down or look weak. I was a good distance behind them but I was trying my hardest. If Alexis could see me now, she wouldn't believe I had been running with minimum breaks for hours nonstop. It had gotten dark by now.

We heard it before we even got there. The screaming and the yelling filled with snarling and the smell of blood. I took out my small gun and got ready. The night was filled with gun shots and death.

Once everything got quiet I knew it was over. I looked around and saw families hugging and others mourning their dead.

The fact I had not slept in 2 days finally hit me when my legs buckled under me and exhaustion overtook me. I blacked out and hit the cold ground only to dream about my lost friend.

Hello

Thankyou so much for the review and the follows. It means a lot and makes me realize that there are people out there actually reading my story and it feels good!

If I get 2 more reviews or more follows, I promise to update before the weekend is over.


	7. Chapter 7

**Noah POV**

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that I was not on the cold hard ground as I had expected after last night's event. Instead, I was tucked inside a sleeping bag inside a tent. Looking around, I noticed I was alone. My backpack and tote bag were lined up by the side of the tent. My shoes were lying next to me as well.

Alexis crossed my mind for a split second and a wave of nausea hit me. I ran outside of the tent barefoot to empty out my already empty stomach. I ran to the nearest bush ignoring how everyone had stopped what they were doing to stare at me.

When I was done vomiting, I let my knees hit the floor and just stayed there lost in my own thoughts. What was to become of me now? No one would give a damn about what happened to me from now on, even if Rick had promised I would be fine, I knew he had his family to worry about and I didn't blame him for being busy.

I must have looked pathetic kneeling on the ground feeling sorry for myself. I didn't care, I covered my face with my hands as I fought back tears that were threatening to make their way out.

"Hey are you okay?" I heard the concerned little voice of someone. I turned around to see a young boy and girl with worried looks on their faces.

I nodded my head and tried to smile at them.

"Here you must be hungry you can have my granola bar." He reached out to give me his food and sat down next to me.

"You can have my juice box too." The little girl said and sat down on my other side.

I kindly accepted their offerings because it was not a surprise I was starving and probably dehydrated.

"My name is Carl, that right there is Sophia. What's your name? Are you staying here with us?" He asked excitedly.

"My name is Noah and yes I'm staying with you, I think we are going to be good friends. What you think?" I chuckled and punched his arm lightly to lighten down the mood. I like kids they are so easy going and Alexis said I could relate to them better because I acted like them.

Both Carl and Sophia smiled and nodded.

"Hey Carl whose tent is that one?" I pointed to the tent I had been sleeping in.

"That's Daryl's. He is kind of scary and doesn't talk to anyone else much." He scrunched up his nose as he talked about Daryl.

"You shouldn't judge people so fast and get to know them better." I ruffled his hair and made my way inside the tent to get my shoes as I drank the juice box Sophia had gave me and ate the granola bar.

I put my old red converse on and tied my shoe laces good, not that it mattered because they were going to untie anyway. When I stepped outside the tent the kids where gone off to do their own things and so I made my way to the rest of the group who were all arguing about something I couldn't quite hear.

When I got closer, I saw Rick, Daryl, Glenn, and other people burying the dead. Had none of them slept last night? I remember Carl said I had spent the night in Daryl's tent. I wonder how I had ended up there. Daryl still sounded really pissed about his brother.

"Daryl how can I help?" I made my way to him to ask him.

"You better off not gettin' on ma way." He picked up a body by the arms and started pulling it to the other side. I grabbed it… I mean him… by the legs and helped Daryl out even if he didn't want me too. He rolled his eyes but didn't complain.

"So umm thank you for sharing your tent." I told him. He ignored me and went over to pick up another body. I hurried after him to keep helping.

"Did you carry me there last night?"

"Yer shoe's untied." He told me without answering my question. I looked down to see my tattered and untied shoelaces and shrugged, I would tie them later.

"You did not answer my question." I told him with.

"Ya talk too much." He responded.

"Sorry." I tried to remain quiet while we continued to work but it mostly consisted of me asking Daryl questions he did not answer like where he learned how to handle a panic attack and why he didn't like to talk much.

"A walker bit Jim!" A lady cried. We all turned to see what was happening.

"I'm okay. I'm okay." The guy called Jim tried to tell them but everyone just closed in on him. I saw Shane was among them so I stayed back; I didn't want him to see me. I knew I wasn't one of his favorite people and I didn't know if he knew I was still around.

Jim was bitten and they were trying to figure out what to do. I didn't want to be a part of such decision. How could they even think about killing him? Alexis had gone through the same and I could not think about someone putting a bullet through her head. Everything was getting too much for me. All the arguing and the smell and everything was making me sick.

I went back to Daryl's tent and pulled out Alexis's note from my tote bag. I took my time reading it and taking in each word as if it were her last words because they were. For some reason, I didn't want to cry when I finished it, instead, I felt happy because she hated seeing me sad. She said it didn't fit me. I held the note to my chest and smiled. I missed her so much and I always would but it was time for me to grow up and try to fend for myself.

A couple of minutes later, I went back out and observed from afar how they finished burying their dead. A lone tear made its way down my cheek. How was I expected to watch and not empathize with those who had lost someone, when I had lost someone as well.

I watched as a blonde girl, maybe around my age, was having a hard time letting go. Everyone I knew was there, even Carl and Sophia. When they were done, they all made their way to the other side of camp and I followed.

I walked up to Carl who looked shaken up by all of it.

"Hey little dude." I patted his head.

"Hey Noah." He sounded sad. I had to cheer him on a bit.

"Hey want to know a little secret?" I asked him with a wink.

"Sure!" He perked up a bit. I had to make up something fast.

"I'm part of this super-secret club called The Squirrels and we are taking new members. Would you like to join?" I whispered to him.

"Yes! What do I have to do Noah?"

"All you have to do is always be happy and remain positive no matter what. Plus, new members get something really special." I tried to look secretive as I told him. I knew I had his full attention now and he had long forgotten about the funeral. I took out a red candy from my pocket and gave it to him.

"Once you eat this, you will always have to remain positive and you can never lose hope okay?"

He nodded his head many times.

"Noah, do you think The Squirrels can take one more member?" He asked me. I pretended to think hard for a moment.

"Yes, I suppose so. Who did you have in mind?" I asked and pulled out another candy from my pocket.

"Sophia, she would make a great member and she is my best friend."

"Okay but you need to go explain the rules to her okay?" I told him and gave him the candy. I couldn't help but smile as I saw him run off excitedly in search of Sophia. It made me happy to see other people happy.

Back with the rest of the group, I sat on the ground around the fire, waiting for someone to come and tell us what was next. I figured after last night, we wouldn't stay here any longer. I started playing with the dirt and twigs as everyone around me carried their own conversations.

Carl and Sophia came to sit next to me, both looked extremely pleased and happy. I saw Shane and Rick make their way over. Everyone that was left in the group was there. When Shane laid his eyes on me realization finally hit his face.

"What's that bitch still doing here?" He began to walk my way with his big gun on one hand. I started to stand up and run the other way scared but Rick put his hand on his chest.

"She's part of this group now. There is nothing more to it understood?"

Shane shook his head and threw me a dirty look before backing away. I had noticed Daryl had made his way over from the other side of the fire and was now standing on back of me but I couldn't read his face.

It was then agreed we would be headed to the CDC first thing in the morning. After that everyone went their own ways. It was late and so I made my way back to Daryl's tent and laid down making sure to leave the sleeping bag free for Daryl. Alexis had kept ours in her bag which she had with her when we left Atlanta and so I had none anymore. Daryl was not here yet but this was his space so I shouldn't invade more than necessary. I pulled out my bear from my tote bag and curled up in a little ball to try to go to sleep when suddenly I heard Daryl come in.

"What the Hell." I turned around as I heard him cuss. He grabbed the sleeping bag in a bunch and threw it my way. I was confused.

"This is yours." I threw it back. He just grabbed it again and threw it back at me.

"I'm too tired to put up with yer loud peep hole so just take the damn thing and go to sleep." He said as he pulled a small blanket from his bag and laid down as far away from me as he could be, facing away.

Having recovered from the shock of Daryl sharing, I got inside the nice warm sleeping bag with my bear and closed my eyes. A small smile formed at the corner of my lips. I knew deep down he was a good person.

 **Hello!**

 **As promised here it is. Let me know if you think I'm writing Daryl too out of character. Anyways thank you so much for the reviews you are awesome! Keep them coming.**

 **The more reviews the sooner I update. I promise! Let's say 3-4 reviews and I update by Tuesday. Keep in mind I don't have any chapters pre-written so I have to sit down and write all this and the ideas just come as I write. Hope you like it!**


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, I was awoken rather rude if I might say. I was having a really nice colorful dream full of lots of sweets, when someone began shaking me.

"Wake up. It's time to hit the road."

I could make out Daryl's redneck accent.

"No." I buried deeper into the sleeping bag that had a really comforting smell. It smelt like the outside mixed with oranges. I loved oranges. I think I was drifting back to sleep because I saw myself eating a nice sweet orange but then someone, who I assumed to be Daryl, dragged me out of the sleeping bag and left me sitting up right in the middle of the small tent.

"Get yer pretty butt outta my sleeping bag and get yer shit ready because if not you will get left behind and eaten by walkers. Got that girl?"

With that said I looked up at him rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I locked eyes with him and for the first time noticed their blue color. After running my sleepy eyes up and down all over him, he became aware of all my starring.

"Don't test my patience girl." He said walking out of the tent.

I took a long breath and stretched my arms. Taking advantage of Daryl's absence, I began to change my clothes. I put on a pair of red cargo pants that were a couple of sizes big on me on the waist but nothing a belt couldn't fix. I changed my shirt into a white long sleeved shirt and looked inside my backpack.

In the backpack were the dirty jeans and black long sleeve I had just taken off along with some underwear and a yellow long sleeve shirt. I frowned knowing this is all I had and it wasn't going to be enough once it started getting cold. I put on my shoes and tied the shoelaces good. Making sure everything was inside my backpack and tote bag, I was ready to head out. Before I went out, I tied the small pouch of marbles to my belt and put my slingshot in my back pocket.

Outside everyone was busy packing and loading stuff into cars. That's when I realized I didn't know who I was supposed to go with. When Daryl saw me come out, he made his way over to dissemble the tent without even acknowledging me.

"Sweetie are you hungry? Come sit over here and I'll bring you something to eat." A nice lady with short greyish hair motioned me to take a seat where Carl and Sophia were sitting eating some breakfast.

"Hello fellow club members what are you two up to?" I smiled as I walked up to them.

"Hey Noah you should ride with us!" Carl said. Not a bad idea.

"If it's okay with your parents and I fit, I will." I smiled and ruffled his hair and he laughed.

"Why do you always do that to my hair?" He kept laughing.

"I like it, it's so straight and untangled unlike mine." I showed him the fall of knots my curly hair had become. He tried to pass his fingers through it but they wouldn't budge and that made him laugh.

"I have a brush you can use later." Sophia said shyly.

"Thankyou." I told her. These kids were nice they didn't deserve to have to grow up in a world like this. They should be in school playing with their friends without a care in the world.

The lady with the short hair came over and sat a plate with food in my lap. There were some potatoes and some slices of green apple. I hated green apples, they were sour but it wasn't the time to be picky. I tried not to make faces as I slowly ate them and thanked her.

I later found out her name was Carol and she was Sophia's mom. She had that nice mom vibe going on and it made me feel good. My own mom became withdrawn from me ever since a certain incident in our lives. I shook my head to break free of my thoughts. There was no point on thinking about that now. Instead, I paid attention to Carl and Sophia who were busy playing Rock Paper Scissors.

As it turned out I couldn't ride with Carl and Sophia because it was really packed in their small car with all their belongings. The two kids were disappointed but I told them I would still be there once we got there.

That left me with riding with Shane or Daryl. I figured Shane would probably throw me out the vehicle when I least expected it so that left me with Daryl. I saw him loading everything to the back of his truck. He had a really nice bike there too.

I walked up to him as I tried to come up with the right words to ask him.

"Hey Dar-." As I approached him, I saw his back tense and I couldn't see his face but I bet he was annoyed at the sound of my voice approaching.

"What'da ya what?" He turned to face me.

"I was wondering if I could ride with you since I don't fit anywhere else." I think my words were hardly audible because he had to step closer to hear what I was saying.

He thought about it for a minute then started to walk away towards the driver side. "Do what ya want but try to keep yer peeping to a minimum."

I smiled triumphantly and threw my backpack on the back of his truck and made my way to the passenger side. I hope I could keep quiet the whole way.

 **Hey guys sorry for the long wait. I am in the process of moving and when I had written this down it didn't save and I was so mad to have to write it again that I kept putting it aside. As a reward, I will write another chapter RIGHT NOW and it will be DARYL'S POV!**

 **Let me know in the reviews of other ways Noah can keep driving Daryl crazy and messing with his patience!**

 **I did not revise this so sorry for any grammar issues.**


	9. Chapter 9

Daryl POV

I knew letting her get on the truck meant having to endure her endless talking and questions. I wasn't even sure why I let her, just as I wasn't sure why I carried her to my tent that night after she passed out. I could have just turned my back and left her there until someone else had assumed responsibility.

Rick had agreed to keep an eye out on her but so far, I haven't even seen him direct a single word at her. Why did I care? The only person I had ever cared about was Merle.

Maybe it was because I lost Merle the same day she lost her friend. Whatever she still wasn't my burden to bare. As soon as we got to the CDC I was sure someone else would see to her. I looked at her out of the corner of my eye.

She had decided to play some stupid game of ISpy. Of course, she wanted me to go along but I had long since blocked her out so her game was one sided.

I did not know what to make of her. She was 25 years old, not so much younger than I, but she sure didn't act like it half the time. She was weird to say the least. Her friend was right, she wouldn't make it out there alone. But that was none of my business.

"I spy with my little eyes something with leaves." She was looking out the window facing away from me.

"A tree." I said it and instantly regretted showing interest because it meant she would be expecting more.

She turned back to me smiling. How can a person smile so damn much?

"So, you do want to play?" She kept smiling almost tauntingly.

"No." I kept my eyes on the road. "Yer game is stupid."

She pretended to be hurt. "Well I am bored."

"Not my problem."

"So, you ride bikes?" She asked me enthusiastically.

I ignored her. I answer one question and that's it, it would be question after question the rest of the road.

"Is this your truck?"

I stayed quiet and tried to block her out again.

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

I accidently stirred the wheel too much to the left making the truck move abruptly but I quickly regained control. I was not expecting that kind of questions it certainly caught me off guard. Noah wasn't wearing a seatbelt so she was now all over my side of the seat.

I pushed her aside. "Put on your damn seatbelt. Will ya?"

She quickly put it on and was about to say something else but I cut her off.

"Ya ask one more question and I'll stop right here and leave ya here and make sure no one else brings ya along. No more questions ever." As soon as I said that I looked at her and her expression had completely changed. She was no longer smiling but her eyes became watery and if I looked closed enough her bottom lip was trembling.

No no no. She wasn't about to cry, was she? All I told her was to stop asking questions. I did not know how to handle a crying woman. She turned her whole body away from me facing the window and her shoulders began slightly shaking.

Shit what do I do?

"Hey I'm sorry. Don't be such a princess. Stop all that crying." I tried not be harsh but I didn't want to go soft over a crying girl either.

She wiped her tears and sat up straight looking out the front window. "It's okay. It's not your fault." She sniffled.

"What's wrong then?" I became curious but at the same time tried to pretend I didn't care.

"When you said, you were going to leave me here alone I believed you. I don't like to be alone never have liked it." She looked out the window sadly.

She had more issues than a person could see at first glance I assumed. It became silent after that and I couldn't believe I was missing her happy chatter.

It crossed my mind just like me she had no one now.

Up ahead I noticed the cars stopping so I pulled up to side and turned off the engine. I got off the truck and made my way to the passenger side just as she opened her door to get off, I closed it right back "Stay there." She didn't even argue.

Whatever the issue was, she would just get in the way. I kept telling myself that.

It was better than admitting a part of me was watching out for her.

As promised. I don't know if I did a good job with Daryl. He is tricky but let me know how you like it or don't like it. Also, review and let me know how else Noah can keep driving Daryl crazy.

Might update again tomorrow depending on reviews that motivate me. If not then for sure next Friday or Saturday.


	10. Chapter 10

**Noah POV**

Daryl had said he was going to leave me alone and that hit me hard. I couldn't stand being alone for long periods of time. After the family incident, it was like my parents couldn't look at me the same way anymore I was just a constant reminder of what had happened. I disliked to think about those memories, but after that my parents began leaving me alone at home for days at a time when I was just a little kid. Being alone reminded me of that and it reminded me I had no one that cared about me now. Maybe it was my own fault that I had no one.

A silent tear escaped my cheek. It wasn't Daryl's fault after I thought about it, I knew he didn't mean what he said. He had left a couple of minutes ago, telling me to stay in the car. I didn't argue because I needed time to think.

He was probably annoyed of me by now.

I wonder what was happening and if it was something bad. I couldn't see much from where Daryl had pulled over. All I saw were the back of people's heads. I pulled out my bear from my tote bag and just sat hit on the dashboard so it didn't feel so lonely inside here.

A small smile crossed my lips when I remembered hoe Alexis used to tease me about Bear. She used to say there must be something psychologically wrong with a 25-year-old that carried a toy around. She was right though, after all everyone has their own way of coping with a troubled past.

I heard the driver side open and in came Daryl with his crossbow. He saw the bear on the dashboard and raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

I put bear away as Daryl started the engine.

"So, what happened out there?" I immediately covered my mouth realizing I had asked a question and Daryl had said no more questions. I must have looked really scared but Daryl proceeded to answer my question.

"We had to leave Jim behind. He was too sick." He kept driving.

I immediately felt bad for Jim. I didn't know him but my worst fear was dying alone and he was out there dying with no one to ever remember him, maybe that is how I will spend my last days. I tried not to get sad but as I was about to keep thinking about how sad the world is now, Daryl spoke up breaking me out of my sad thoughts

"I spy something brown."

I turned to look at him. I thought he had said it was a stupid game. Did he really want to play now? Well I didn't want him to change his mind so I smiled and quickly answered, "The trees."

"No." He kept looking straight and driving.

I was confused there was nothing else brown outside. I kept looking hard for a couple of minutes but found nothing.

"Give up?"

"Yes. What is it?" I asked defeated.

"Your eyes." He never took his eyes off the road.

"That's cheating." I told him.

"No, it's not." He finally turned to look at me apparently shocked at my response.

"Yes, it has to be outside, therefore I win." I crossed my arms on my chest and smiled.

"My truck, my rules and I say it doesn't so no you don't win." He went back to driving.

We played a couple more times much to my surprise. I didn't think Daryl would want to keep playing. We must have been in the middle of the game when my eyes became heavy and I fell asleep.

Before I knew it, I woke up to Daryl opening the passenger door. I looked around. The sun was going down and everyone else was getting off their cars. We were finally here. I took off my seatbelt and grabbed my tote bag and my backpack ready to go. As I got off the truck, the first thing that hit me was the smell. I covered my mouth and nose and tried not to gag. The place was full of corpses and flies.

This was not what I was expecting.

Daryl was on the alert walking ahead of me. I noticed the kids sticking close to their moms and everyone else was walking fast but quiet. Out of pure instinct I grabbed on to Daryl's arm, not wanting to be left behind. Surprisingly he didn't seem to mind. We continued walking stepping over dead people.

We made it to the front only to see it locked down with shutters. It looked empty really.

I began to get scared. It would be dark soon and where there were corpses there was most likely walkers. I didn't want to be out here at night. The more Rick and Shane pounded on the shutters, the harder I squeezed Daryl's arm but if he noticed, he didn't say anything.

"There is nobody here." I heard T-Dog said.

"Then why are these shutters down?" Rick insisted.

Everyone was agitated and nervous.

"Walkers!" Daryl called. I let go of his arm and reached for my sling shot and some marbles ready to shoot. Carol and Lori hugged the children closer.

It was an intense situation. My breathing got heavier the closer they got but I had to calm down if I wanted to aim right.

I took a shot and got one right on the eye as Daryl got another with his crossbow. My slingshot worked at close range and mostly just with really decayed walkers, sometimes it took me 2 or 3 shots in the eye until they finally went down. It was a better choice than a gun sometimes because it was quiet just like Daryl's crossbow.

"You led us into a graveyard." Daryl accused Rick. The kids were crying and everyone was on edge.

"He made a call." Someone said.

"It was the wrong damn call!"

I reached out to Daryl to try and calm him down but he quickly shrugged me away. He was too upset.

Everyone kept screaming and arguing and the kids kept crying. I tried to block it all to think, but it was too much. If no one figured something out soon I was going to have another panic attack. I could already feel it getting harder to breath. I didn't know what was happening but suddenly Daryl was dragging me forward as everyone began to ran back to the cars.

I stopped and turn to look at Rick with a desperate look.

"The camera, it moved." I looked up to the camera and saw it move again. I pushed past Daryl and went to Rick.

"I saw it too. There is someone there!" I told Rick. Everyone stopped, but they didn't believe us.

"Noah c'mon!" Daryl tried to drag me with him but my eyes were fixated on the camera as were Rick's.

Rick began pleading to the camera to let us in. I prayed they would listen. No one else believed but I did because I had hope. I know more walkers were making their way closer to us. This was our only chance. If no one opened the doors, we were all going to die. The sun was down already.

Shane dragged a screaming Rick away and I was about to let Daryl drag me away as well until something unexpected happened.

The shutters opened and from inside came a bright light. It was the answer to the prayers. We all stood there in shock for a couple of seconds.

Then we all walked in.

 **Hello Thank you so much for the reviews and new followers! Hope you like this chapter I might post the next tomorrow or Sunday. Also, if you want to see how Noah looks like I will leave a link to wattpad where I just put pictures of her.**

myworks/93299523/write/376821486

 **Review please let me know what you would like to see or anything especially if you have any ideas on how Noah can keep messing with Daryl's patience**


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